My family and I have thoroughly enjoyed hours of unlimited streaming (I think that’s the only thing that has kept Bug from being bored out of her mind here at the office while we schlep kids belts) and the DVD’s have been great, but I have to say that a 60% price increase seems a bit excessive. I’m not sure what school of business you attended that said such a drastic increase all at one time is a smart one.

It seems as though the rapid (seemingly overnight) popularity of Netflix all but hastened the demise of Blockbuster, Movie Gallery (in case you don’t remember those, click here) and the like. I mean, really, we saw those stores going by the wayside eventually thanks to cable companies offering “On Demand” programming and more and more Redbox vending machines popping up all over the place and the endless places that you can stream movies online, but I’m pretty sure that Netflix was the straw that broke the camels back.

While all of these new options are convenient, there is something to be said about walking into a video store, picking up a VHS tape (yes, that dates me, I know) reading the description on the back of the box and moving on to the next. Call me nostalgic, but it was exciting to see the “New Releases” and all of the fancy cover art. Ok, so I’m a geek, but I’m ok with that.

Then, there were all of those glorious late fees. By the time we actually returned the movie and paid the late fees, we probably could have just bought the movie, but all those tapes just took up too much room.

Ah… Squirrel!

Back to Netflix, I think it was a major mistake to raise your prices so drastically and no matter how much I love you, it’s now the principle of it… I will not pay a 60% price increase, for no additional return. I guess our life will consist on trips to the nearest Redbox vending machines. Maybe we will now just have to check out Epix for our online streaming. It’s free for the time being, anyway. And if we stick with you? Well, I will be saving $2/month by only getting streaming. Thanks for saving me money.

The lesson: Don’t mess with a good thing by getting greedy. It’s bad for business.

Could you do me a HUGE favor? I entered the Leading Moms in Business contest. The 2011 StartupNation Leading Moms in Business competition will rank the top 200 mom-run businesses across the United States as determined by the combination of popular vote and the special recognition of our judges for certain outstanding contestants.

The StartupNation judges will review the top 200 vote getters and select businesses from among those to highlight as “Most Outstanding” in specialized categories and themes developed during the judging process.

I entered a few days ago (contest started March 1st), so I’m behind the curve a little, but I have high hopes that with the help of my family, friends, and the awesome Dapper Snappers kids belts fans, I can win!

Please VOTE FOR ME at http://bit.ly/dslmib11. Voting only takes a second (literally)! You can vote once per day (per browser). When you vote, a pop-up box will offer to send you daily reminders to vote. It’s really handy to have those reminders. Plus, it keeps me from begging constantly. You can also click on the link in the voting widget below.
You can also leave comments that could sway the judges opinion in my favor. I really appreciate all your help.

Oh Super Dude. Someday you’ll get it. I mean, you have an incredible sense of humor, when you’re not trying. For now I get to regale my family, friends, and FaceBook/Twitter buddies with all the funny things you and your sister say. Like at Christmas when you were excitedly opening presents and when your sister asked what present you were opening you exclaimed, “I don’t know but I’ve always wanted it!” Or your version of Gloria…Real version: Gloria in excelsis deo. Kiddos version: Oh-oh-ohohohohohohohoh-ohia Jesus Christ in stereo. And then the time when the Bug declared that “Jesus Price is Born!”

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My kids are funny, smart, and the joy of my life (not to mention my inspiration for inventing those genius Kids Belts). But they do say the darnedest things, don’t they? Well, thanks to someone who contacted me through my blog, I got turned onto a website dedicated to sharing those darnedest things. My Kid is Gifted allows you to share the funny things your kid does and says in a safe environment. I mean, not everyone wants to know every thing your kid does. And you probably don’t want everyone, especially creepy, stalker-types, to know all about your kids. Here you can share with people who want to know the funny things your kids are saying. And you can gauge your own anonymity.

I’ve been making Dapper Snappers Kids Belts for 2 1/2 years now and I have lost more of them than I could count. How? Well, I think it’s the sock-eating dryer monster. I think it saw an opportunity for something even tastier than socks. Yeah…That’s what it was… Okay, maybe not. But losing a Dapper Snapper is so frustrating because you don’t know you’ve lost it until you HAVE TO HAVE IT RIGHT NOW!!!

Customers have been asking me for a solution to the missing Dapper Snapper problem for quite some time. The problem is that I’m the least organized person I know, so the solution evaded me until recently. It’s another example of ‘If something doesn’t have a where to be, it could be anywhere.’ So where oh where could I put Dapper Snappers where I won’t lose them? I think I found a rather simple solution that uses something you already own. That’s right! I’m not inventing a Dapper Snapper Keeper. I’m not asking you to buy anything. I’m not even suggesting you go out and get something you don’t already have. It’s this simple…

TADA!!! See how easy that is? You can snap them around any hanger and hang them in the closet or, better yet, in your laundry room. This way you will always know where they are, because they have a where to be.

If something doesn’t have a where to be, it could be anywhere.

I am the most disorganized person I know. The pile of papers on our counter is an amazing, mountainous amalgamation bills, junk mail, coupons, preschool drawings/crafts, and cords to unknown electronics that are probably long gone. But about a year ago, while visiting my bestest friend, I noticed something they did that was so simple that I couldn’t figure out why I didn’t think of it. Every time they came into the house, they would remove their shoes and put them in a basket. This basket, filled with various pairs of shoes, was nothing extraordinary. It was just the simple answer to a problem I’ve been battling for years. Where are my shoes??? I’m proud to say that for the past year the answer to that question has been, “In the shoe-bucket!”

But it wasn’t until a couple days ago that I realized that that simple organization concept could be applied to anything. It doesn’t have to be elaborate. It doesn’t have to have a bunch of compartments or labels or color-coded tabs. Keep it simple. I want my kids to get organized as well, so I took the Bug to the Dollar Tree and bought these little totes for her to store her art stuff in. Crayons in one bin, markers in another, etc. She is too much like me, in that whatever it is, it won’t get put away unless there’s a place it’s supposed to go.

Getting organized doesn’t have to be a huge ordeal. Getting just one thing organized can save lots of time, frustration, and sanity. Your stuff could be socks, kids belts, or emails. That is why I put Hubby to work on creating a program for me to help me stay organized in a very important part of my business. I can’t afford to spend so much time flipping back and forth between websites and emails trying to keep tabs on situations when it could all be in one place. Hubby is building me a virtual shoe bucket. I need a where for all my stuff to be to feel organized.

Remember that cake I was making for my daughter’s 4th birthday party? Well, it turned out pretty okay. My skeptical Bug was gushing over it as soon as I put the doll’s “dress” on. She was so excited! Her only criticism was that the doll’s eyes were brown, and they should be blue like Cinderella. Well, some things can’t be helped.

She kept telling everyone at the party that her mommy made it for her. Then all the parents would look at me and ask, “You made this???”

Isn't she lovely?

As it turns out, I’m almost as good at making doll cakes as I am at making Kids Belts, not that I’m going to go into business making doll cakes. Hubby did look at costing it out though. I guess he saw my natural bakers talent too. Oh if only I had a bigger kitchen…Ha!

The Bug’s birthday party is on Saturday. She turned 4 December 27th, but since it’s so close to Christmas, we just wait to celebrate it until the first weekend after the first of the year. This year I wanted to make a princess cake for her. Granted, I probably want it more than she does so I can somehow feel like a supermom. But really this year is the year. Next year she’s going to have definite ideas about what she wants and doesn’t want and I’m not going to have a say anymore. This year is the first year she understands what it means to have a birthday. She has a lot of friends. She’s got every kid begging to come to her party, which we are having at McDonald’s because our place is way too small. She’s so excited! But I am too. I’m making a princess cake!

The cake in the picture is not my cake, but is close to what I’m going to do. I went to Michael’s to get everything I would need to make a princess cake. I already had a Pampered ChefClassic Batter Bowl to bake the cake in. I was on a mission to get fondant, coloring, and a doll. While I was there, another lady in the hanging out in the be-crazy-and-make-your-own-specialty-cake isle told me that I should make my own fondant. Apparently the pre-made stuff is pretty nasty tasting.

Last night, I made fondant from a recipe I found on AllRecipes.com. This afternoon I baked a PillsburyFunfetti cake which took forever because of the depth of the bowl. I made buttercream frosting, also a recipe from AllRecipes.com, and frosted the cake. It’s now in the refrigerator waiting for the fondant to be placed on it tomorrow. I’m just glad I planned to make this cake over a few days so I wasn’t rushing at the last minute to get it put together. From what I’ve heard, fondant is not easy to work with. I’ll let you know how it comes out. If it’s good, I may even take pictures. Who knows? I could be the next Cake Boss. Ummm…probably not…